MADISON, Wis. — The City of Madison asked those staying at the now unauthorized homeless encampment at Reindahl Park to move to an approved location at Starkweather Creek Park. But close to a dozen homeless people are choosing to stay at Reindahl, even after being ordered to leave.
“They’re trying to figure out when it’s actually appropriate to come clean up,” said James Degrey who is homeless. “We are totally willing to work with that but there’s more than one communication breakdown.”
Degrey and other homeless people say there’s confusion as to where they can legally stay.
He said the City has come by to clean up any abandoned campsites since its order to clear out the park by Sunday, but for the most part, crews have left those still there alone.
“We all walked along with them to show them each tent that people were there. This guy is over here. This lady is over here. They came to the conclusion that nothing can be removed today,” Degrey said.
In a statement, the City’s Community Development Director Jim O’Keefe said, “Reindahl Park is no longer an authorized temporary permissible encampment site. The Starkweather Creek site remains available for people wishing to camp outdoors” but encouraged people to find other options.
Community advocates have come to Reindahl to strongly oppose the new Starkweather Creek location.
“These people are from our communities and they’ve been moved around three, four times throughout the year and that only causes trauma,” said community advocate Gabriella Jenich.
Jenich said the new location is away from resources and not a viable place for any person to sleep.
“This is an issue we can and should solve as a community,” Jenich said.
The City will reopen discussion of whether or not to keep temporary encampments like the one at Reindahl open to the public at its May 18 meeting.
Until then, Degrey and his friends said they’re here to stay.
“Theres no way to actually make plans let because on the 18th, it’s the common council referendum meeting that actually decides whether Reindahl stays open or closed,” he said.
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